One Of Those Taken By Terrorists *Open Thread*

The terrorist attack by radical Islamists in San Bernadino is shifting to the back burner as the media continues on its drumbeat to report All Things Trump. Now they are reporting, non-stop, that Trump, of all people, is criticizing Sen. Cruz for calling out people as liars, using the term, “maniac”. Wow, as if Trump has ANY credibility whatsoever on chastising someone for what they say (and in Cruz’s case, he was RIGHT).

Then there is the upcoming Republican debate on CNN (ugh) Tuesday nigh. Once again, there are going to be a gazillion people on the stage. But the media continues to frame everyone else’s run in relation to Trump, which is problematic on a host of levels, both for the candidates, and for us.

But that is for tomorrow. Before we get too removed from the terror attack, I want to share with you a piece I read over the weekend. It was written by the brother of one of the victims, Daniel Kaufman, at his blog, Freespace: Timothy Sandefur, and reprinted in The Federalist. I recommend you read the entire post, especially as Sandefur writes about the man his brother was, how much he loved animals, how kind he was, and how very loved he was. It is powerful, and moving, a true testament to this man lost to soon for his family, and for us as a society.

But there were other parts of this piece by Sandefur, an attorney with the Pacific Legal Foundation and the Cato Institute, that were powerful, too. That would be some of the points made about our country. From The Federalist:

[…] First, although Danny was gay, he was not killed for that reason. The jihadists certainly didn’t stop to ask. Danny was a human being capable of thought and love. That was enough to make him dear to us—and to make him a target for jihad. There are rumors he was Jewish. He was not.

[…]

Second, our family does not believe in the supernatural in any way; quite the contrary. But we also do not object to or resent the offers we’ve had from many kind people to pray for us. Indeed, I was shocked and disappointed that some of my fellow atheists rushed in their sadness to insult those who made such offers. As Shakespeare says, we receive offered love like love, and will not wrong it. We appreciate the thoughtfulness of our religious friends, and we celebrate the freedom of, and from, religion that jihadists would destroy.

Third, my family has always believed, and still believes, that all people everywhere have a fundamental right to possess guns for self-defense, against criminals as well as against the government; that this right is enshrined on an equal footing with other essential rights in our Constitution, and that all elected officials are bound by oath to respect and protect it. Efforts to disarm law-abiding people, such as are now underway, are counterproductive and wrong. Danny shared our belief on this matter.

But we also believe that political questions should not be decided on the basis of emotion. Gun rights and other constitutional issues should be subject to rational thought, based on ethics, law, history, and politics. Emotional demands to “do something!” are just begging for irresponsible lawmaking. We also recognize that the fact that our loved one happened to believe in gun rights does not make our views either more or less credible than they were before his death. Those interested in the right to possess firearms should study the relevantconstitutional history and so forth—not react based on feelings.

Amen to that. No legislation should be based on emotionalism rather than taking a step back after a tragic event, and allowing reason to inform laws.

I also appreciate Sandefur’s response to the offer of prayers for him and his family over their tragic loss, even though his family are apparently atheists. That generosity is something sorely lacking from many on the Left, and too many atheists who seek to impose their religion on the rest of us (like this most recent example of a Nativity scene being removed and an atheist monument taking its place during CHRISTMASTIDE). Sandefur’s ability to accept prayers for what they are – an outpouring of love and support in a time of grief – is a lesson many could learn about graciousness.

[…] Fourth, I believe there is no solution to the jihadist threat short of victory against our enemies. When attacked, one has a basic choice: one can curtail one’s own behavior, in hopes that the enemy can be persuaded not to attack again—or one can accept the challenge, and defeat that enemy.

[…]

War is horrible. But it is not the worst horror. A life without freedom or law is still worse. Peace, said Churchill, cannot be “preserved by praising its virtues.” Nor by lowering flags to half-staff, reading lists of victims’ names, putting “coexist” bumper stickers on your car, having James Taylor play at your press conferences, etc. That may feel nice, but the future of freedom, peace, and civilization requires more than hugs and hashtags. It demands that we compel the Islamist aggressor, who has warred against us since 1979, to cease making war and accept peace on civilized terms.

[…]

Danny and I watched the attacks of September 11, 2001, together on the TV in our living room. I can say with certainty that—to the extent that so kind a man was capable of understanding such evil—he believed in defying the barbarian by living just as we choose: freely, tolerantly, skeptically, joyfully, laughingly, humanly. After the (most recent) Paris attack, Danny enjoyed watching over and over again this well-known video by Andrew Neil. It expresses very well what he believed, and what our family believes. […] (Click here to read the rest.)

It is clear that neither one of these brothers underestimated what our enemies were capable of doing to this nation, and our leaders would do well to heed some of Sandefur’s advice in this regard (as well as others).

I cannot imagine how hard it was for Sandefur to write this piece after his brother was killed, and buried. I thank him for doing so, though, and yes, my prayers go out to him and his family at this difficult time, as well as the families and friends of the other victims of terrorism in CA. I hope and pray that we will learn from the mistakes made, and and stop backing down to those who seek to do us harm.

26 Responses to “One Of Those Taken By Terrorists *Open Thread*”

The best way to honor those we lose is to remember them with love. This “tribute” was just that. Love and kindness and thoughtful responses to the hate so often dished up by other Americans against those that don’t see everything the same way they do. The world could use more people like those brothers. unfortunately the world will now have to do without one of them. As will his family.

Indeed, Marge. I appreciated so much that not only did Sandefur paint a picture of who his brother was, and highlighted the family’s response to the kneejerk reactions, but also listed a number of places to which people could “do good,” including Hirsi Ali’s foundation.

Absolutely, the world could sure use more people like them, not fewer. And this tribute is most definitely a loving remembrance so the rest of us can have an idea of just one of the people lost that day. May we not forget them…

NBC News reported that President Obama had an off-the-record informal lunch with Hillary Clinton at the White House last Monday, where Barack and Hillary discussed issues and talked campaign strategy. No one else was in attendance. It was just the two of them and their food tasters.

The debate about these college-admissions policies is too focused on their legality, not their efficacy.

With the regularity of Old Faithful, honest remarks on racial matters these days are followed by geysers of liberal indignation and outrage. That is what greeted Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s suggestion last week that less-qualified black students might be better off at less-selective colleges.

I wish “Special Report” would have more of Jason Riley and less of Juan Williams. A lot less. As in none.

And who was that woman on the FOX News Sunday panel yesterday? She was obnoxious. I thought George Will put her nicely in her place. I forget her name and hope they don’t have her around often. Chris Wallace had to shut her up several times as she seemed to think she should argue with anything anyone else said.

You ain’t only kidding. I would LOVE for them to have more Riley and NO Williams. I get that they need to have a Dem on and all, but I can stomach Kirsten Powers and Julie Roginsky much more than Williams who at least are more logical in their comments…

Isn’t it swell that the United States Secretary of State is part of an “agreement” designed to bypass our congress. If you don’t like the way our government is designed to work then just bypass it. Nice /s Are he an Obama even aware that they are supposed to represent the “will” of the people, not the “will” of their personal ideology?

But of COURSE it is! This President, the one who claimed he would not be going around Congress, has done nothing BUT go around Congress, at least since it was no longer solely controlled by Dems. WOW.

It is appalling the way this Administration has done everything in their power to destroy our democratic representation, as you noted. Truly astonishing. How is it that they can even call themselves DEMOCRATS??

As a young man, I learned that sometimes that hot chick you’re dating is also completely crazy and, as much fun as it is to go out with her, it’s going to end badly. That’s Donald Trump, the super hottie of the “I Hate the GOP Establishment with a Burning Passion That Has Rendered Me Insusceptible to Reason” crew. He’s sexy, he likes to party, and he certainly puts out – in the sense that he fulfills your fantasies about giving it to the RINOs good and hard.

That intensely troubling metaphor aside, the point is still valid. Donald Trump is not a keeper, not the one you want to marry. He’s never going to make you happy. For now, he’s going to say what makes you happy, and for now he’s going to make a lot of the right people go nuts, but if you get hitched he’ll cheat on you with the liberals. At the end of the day, you’ll walk out of the courtroom wearing a barrel while Trump and the pool boy jet off to Tahiti on your dime.

Since that’s the case, liberals do a terrible job of coming up with any sort of evidence to support their agenda. More often than not, when they do come up with a great statistic that’s repeated over and over, it’s fake. If you want some examples, here are five phony statistics you’ll regularly hear from liberals.

1) One in five college-age women have been raped. How do you create a “rape epidemic” that isn’t actually happening? Easy. You don’t ask women if they’ve been raped; you just expand the definition of rape so much that you define merely unpleasant events or worse yet, even consensual acts as rape.

Right off the bat, the first bit of b.s. is the 1 in 5 rape “statistic”. And guess where that was perpetuated in Prime Time on CBS? Perpetuated by uber liberal Patricia Arquette the tubby lead in CSI Cyber on Sunday night. How many people are going to watch that program and believe that? My guess is millions.

Yep, the plea that never was, “Hand Up, Don’t Shoot!” Never happened yet that did not stop Democrats or the Black Lives Matter people from acting then and now as if it did. That bespeaks a deeper issue, doesn’t it? Continuing to claim something as the BEDROCK for a movement that never even happened? Wow…